1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to garage doors and, more particularly to a bottom seal assembly for use along the bottom edge of a garage door, and a method of constructing such assemblies.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Presently, garage doors are conventionally formed of a plurality of interconnected, elongated steel panels arranged with tongue and groove structure for interfitting of the panels with one another and thereby permitting the door to be retracted along a curved track positioned within the garage.
The lower edge of the bottom panel of a conventional garage door typically is provided with a U-shaped resilient seal that is attached to the door by an elongated support on which the seal is retained; this is often referred to in the art as an astragal seal. This support is secured to the bottom panel of the door by a plurality of metal screws or the like spaced along the length of the support.
Numerous problems arise from this known construction. For example, because the metal screws used in the assembly extend upward through a lower intermediate wall section of the door, they are exposed and present a risk of injury to persons gripping the bottom of the door during opening and closing. These metal screws can also present a problem of electrolysis corrosion owing to the fact that the screws are formed of a dissimilar metal as compared with the aluminum extrusion of the astragal seal. In addition, screw-type fasteners are labor intensive and destroy the integrity of prepainted steel door panels, exposing the panel material to oxidation and producing loose shavings.